Former Nittany Lions, current NFL stars headline panel on 'Business of Football'

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Former Nittany Lions, current NFL stars headline panel on 'Business of Football'

April 01, 2019

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three Penn State alumni and former Nittany Lions now starring in the National Football League will return to campus the day before the Blue-White Game to participate in a panel discussion about the business of football.

Adrian Amos (Green Bay Packers), Allen Robinson (Chicago Bears) and Donovan Smith (Tampa Buccaneers) headline the panel, “From Penn State to the NFL: The Business of Football from the Players’ Perspective.”

The program begins at 4:30 p.m. April 12 in the Freeman Auditorium in the HUB-Robeson Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

The trio, part of the “Supa Six” group that played at Penn State from 2011 to 2014, will share their personal journeys and experience in a candid conversation about concussions and physical risks, free agency and labor issues, race and sport, social responsibility, and the role of professional sports and athletes in society.

At Penn State, the players started a total of 93 games — led by Amos, with 38 starts at cornerback/safety from 2011-14; followed by Smith, an offensive tackle (31, 2012-14); and Robinson, a wide receiver (24, 2011-13). Amos tied for the team lead in interceptions in 2013. Robinson, a 2013 first-team All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, is Penn State’s single-season reception leader, with 97 catches for 1,432 yards in 2013. Smith was a three-year starter for the Nittany Lions.

Robinson was a second-round selection by Jacksonville in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has 257 career receptions for 3,602 yards and 26 touchdowns, and holds the Jaguars’ franchise records for touchdown receptions, with 14 (2015). He appeared in the 2016 Pro Bowl. In 2018, Robinson signed a three-year, $42 million contract with Chicago.

In the 2015 NFL Draft, Smith was picked in the second round by Tampa Bay and Amos was selected in the fifth round by Chicago. Smith has started all 64 of Tampa Bay’s regular-season games in his four seasons in the NFL. He recently signed a three-year, $41.5 million contract extension with the Buccaneers.

In March, after four seasons with the Bears, Amos signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the Packers. In four seasons, he appeared in 60 games, with 56 starts. Amos was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team in 2015 after becoming the first Bears rookie to lead the team in defensive tackles since 2000.

The event is sponsored by the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society and the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. The interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Sports in Society supports research, teaching and public programs and service across Penn State related to the study of sport and its cultural, economic and social impact.